The exponent of a number claims exactly how many type of times to use the number in a multiplication.
You are watching: I to the power of -1

In 82 the "2" says to use 8 twice in a multiplication, so 82 = 8 × 8 = 64
In words: 82 might be referred to as "8 to the power 2" or "8 to the second power", or sindicate "8 squared"
Exponents are additionally referred to as Powers or Indices.
Some more examples:
Example: 53 = 5 × 5 × 5 = 125
In words: 53 could be referred to as "5 to the third power", "5 to the power 3" or ssuggest "5 cubed"Example: 24 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 16
In words: 24 can be dubbed "2 to the fourth power" or "2 to the power 4" or ssuggest "2 to the 4th"You deserve to multiply any number by itself as many kind of times as you desire making use of exponents.
Try here:
In General
So in general:
an tells you to multiply a by itself,so there are n of those a"s: | ![]() |
Another Way of Writing It
Sometimes world use the ^ symbol (over the 6 on your keyboard), as it is simple to kind.
See more: What Is An Infected Hair On An Elephant Called, Dude=Elephant Butt Hair
Negative Exponents
Negative? What could be the oppowebsite of multiplying? Dividing!
So we divide by the number each time, which is the exact same as multiplying by 1number
Negative? Flip the Positive!
![]() | That last example verified an less complicated way to handle negative exponents: Calculate the positive exponent (an) |
More Examples:
4-2 | = | 1 / 42 | = | 1/16 = 0.0625 |
10-3 | = | 1 / 103 | = | 1/1,000 = 0.001 |
(-2)-3 | = | 1 / (-2)3 | = | 1/(-8) = -0.125 |
What if the Exponent is 1, or 0?
1 | If the exponent is 1, then you simply have the number itself (example 91 = 9) | |
0 | If the exponent is 0, then you get 1 (instance 90 = 1) | |
But what around 00 ? It could be either 1 or 0, and so civilization say it is "indeterminate". |
It All Makes Sense
If you look at that table, you will certainly see that positive, zero or negative exponents are really component of the same (sensibly simple) pattern: